Will of the Brotherhood
by Samcyxk
Summary: That was all I needed to hear; I was convinced he was after me. Whether this “Sherry” protested or didn’t, he wanted to see my blood spilt. And by the Nine, I was NOT going to give him that chance...
1. Robed Man Cometh

I hadn't even meant to do it. It had happened all of a sudden, and for some reason…it felt like I had wanted it to happen…

Things had started in my hometown, Skingrad. The gang and I – the gang being made mostly of pre-teen street rats like myself – had just gotten away from the castle guards. Throwing apples at old, reclusive Janus Hassildor's window was, and always has been, frowned upon; yet we couldn't resist.

Rain pelted down on our heads, matting my mess of dark-greenish black hair so that it almost covered my near-scarlet orange eyes. The moistness felt good against my pale skin, the skin which hardly ever got to see sunlight. My eyes drifted to the ground as a stray cat slinked over to me. Although its fur was soaked, it began to purr at my presence.

For the first time since I could remember, a smile found the way onto my face. Such a refreshing feeling, to feel happiness. Once in a lifetime, it seemed.

So, I picked up the cat, and pressed it against my chest; even though the thing was cold, it felt so warm on my body. I set it down, and grabbed for one of my oranges. Holding it up to the cat's face, it meowed rather loudly. One of the kids in the gang, Jiko, said, "Put that down; who knows what kind of disease it could be carrying. Besides, what would Miranda think?"

Miranda – my sweetheart, my forever. The most beautiful Imperial you'd ever laid eyes on. Though the fair maiden was only 12, albeit that being a year older than myself, you could see the beauty radiating from her. She had long golden locks that made everyone in the gang stop and stare whenever she graced us with her presence; mostly it was to see me. Although I was no prize, she liked me. For what, I can't exactly put my finger on.

Anyway, I tossed the orange for the cat…Unfortunately, it collided with a man in a robe. He twitched at the contact, and turned my direction. There was a skeletal hand on his robe, and a midnight black hood hid his face. Breath coming from the dark, mysterious depths swirled in a misty blue cloud in the air in front of him.

"I-I'm sorry," I mustered. My entire body was shaking, but I was able to relax a bit when whoever it was turned away from me. Being such an expert sneak, I crept closer to see if I could listen to what he was saying to the black-clad person next to him.

"The child annoyed me…" the man hissed. "I see no reason why I can't just go end its pitiful life right now? By the looks of things, I'd be doing it a favor." His words made me tense up, especially the part where he referred to me as an "it," as though I wasn't even an Imperial. Part of me wanted to leap out at him, but the sane part got the better of me; the mere sight of his body turned to me, when I couldn't even see his face, had frightened me beyond words.

So, I continued listening in on their conversation.

"Really, I thought you were at least nobler than _this_. Killing an enemy or contract is one thing, but a poor, defenseless child…! That's madness that I'll bet not even Sithis could describe accurately!" At least this one had a good head on their shoulders. Although it was a whisper, I could make out the feminine quality of the woman's voice.

"Besides, we have more important things to tend to, like the Mysterium Xarxes."

"Sherry, who the hell cares about the Mythic Dawn? They were over when Dagon was killed by the Hero of Cyrodiil…Hah! Some _hero_! I heard he took the Daedric Throne for himself. Shows how much of a greedy bastard an Argonian can be…"

"For the love of Sithis, can you hear yourself?! Why, if Kivana heard that…! You'd be this damn close to breaking one of the Tenets!"

There was a sigh from the man, who waved a hand. "Fine, Sherry. You win. Let's go find this wonderful 4th volume, and then we can prance with the ponies in Fairyland!"

"Would you at least try to take this seriously?!"

"NO!" Then, he turned my direction. It was almost as if he'd seen me, because the hood moved slightly. "I have better things to do…"

That was all I needed to hear; I was convinced he was after me. Whether this "Sherry" protested or didn't, he wanted to see my blood spilt. And by the Nine, I was _NOT_ going to give him that chance. Frantically, I got to my feet, my bare feet, and ran away; sneaking didn't matter anymore.

The "uniform" of our gang – no matter how much of a gang it was or wasn't – was a leather shirt and long leather pants. You wanted anything else, you got it yourself. For example, I had stolen an eye patch…like I ever wore it. Mostly, it was there for a bit of decoration on my bleak, unoriginal figure. Now, I wished I had brought it; anything I could use to create some kind of Chameleon potion. Believe it or not, I had a certain talent for alchemy. I just kept the mortar and ingredients at the hideout…Probably the same place I had left the eye patch.

It didn't come of any consequence that I didn't hear footsteps behind me; perhaps he was using a potion of Feather, or had a natural ability to glide. Nothing made sense at the moment except for the fact that I needed to get the hell out of Skingrad.

Passing by a table set up by a beggar, I spotted a dagger. It may have been made of iron, a quick analysis I did, but anything to give me a little more time. Still sprinting, I shifted to the side and snatched it up. There may have been a "Hey!", but I couldn't tell for sure. My mind was fixated on escaping with my life intact. As weird as it sounded, contracting Porphyric Hemophilia would be a better situation than running from a bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac. I deposited the dagger in the back of my pants where I could get to it without someone in front of me seeing.

Turning another corner, a corner which seemed like it popped up ahead of my vision every single time I wanted to change direction, I nearly ran into someone. Thank the Nine I tripped over a rock, or I would've bowled the person over.

Colliding with cobblestone isn't the best feeling in the world. In fact, it really, _really_ hurts. Fortunately, I caught the person's leg, dragged whoever it was down with me, and let my face fall on their thigh.

"Thanks a bunch for coming down," I drearily mumbled. Apparently, my flight from the robed man had fatally impacted my already depressing social skills. My antisocial nature complemented my appearance, or at least, it had…at a point in time before robed people and intended murder. Now what I looked like was most likely a kind of utopia when it was compared to my people skills.

Looking up, I noticed I had rammed into Jiko. The 14-year-old had a dumbfounded look on his face. Part of it was slightly shocked, as though he had seen a lich, then watched it disappear into thin air as it licked its lips…Damn. Too much, just about everything, reminded me of the cloaked man who was pursuing me. The other feeling on Jiko's face was complete and total confusion, like the lich had come back in drag, dancing the salsa.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked. He must've been quite bewildered, since it was all he appeared was able to get out of his gullet. I had to have had the same look on my face, since a smile crept along his. "You don't know, either, eh?" Getting up, he brushed off the leather pants. Extending a hand, he helped me up.

"I know why I'm zigzagging through the streets like a retard! It's because…" What the hell _was_ I making myself look like an idiot for? "I must be freakin' paranoid…" My voice became nearly incoherent because I swore I had heard the rustle of a black robe. Yup, I was paranoid. Yet just to be on the safe side…

"Oh my God! We've gotta get outta here now!" I screeched and made a break for nowhere in particular. I didn't really care if Jiko bothered to follow, since I was concerned about my own skin and blood. Glancing back for a brief moment, I saw Jiko behind me, still a bit puzzled about what was going on. I could clearly see the sweat and perspiration forming on his brow, since he was literally having to sprint to keep up with me in this frenzied state. For me, however, it was much worse. Like running a marathon with no end, knowing that if you stop for even a few seconds, a man in a black, skeleton-handy robe will drop down from the clouds and cut you through the heart and use your remains for some kind of sick experiment…Damn, why couldn't I stop thinking about the cloaked man when I was nearly berserk with fear? Was there some kind of divine force slithering about inside my conscience, whispering things like, "Robe! Skeleton! Don't stop thinking about the guy who wants to make you into sashimi!"

We were nearly out of Skingrad when Jiko yelled to me, "Stop! We have to catch our breath!" It was amazing that he had kept up all this way, running nonstop. It was now, when I came to a halt, that I noticed my lungs and sides ached. A burning sensation, something like a mutated form of hellfire, burned in them. Was the angel of freaking death inside my body roasting chestnuts? Butterflies swarmed inside my stomach, and I leaned over to vomit. Immediately, vultures flew down to eat it up instantly…It made me nearly puke again. How they could devour someone's almost digested food without a crow of dissatisfaction? The vultures, though, confirmed to me that we were just about out of town.

Jiko sat with an arm on his knee, leaned up against a small rock wall. His face was crimson, like the feathers of an ibis, and his heaving chest told me, in each and every churn, that he had run on pure willpower…or maybe a Potion of Agility. I really didn't know which. Parts of his shirt were stained with sweat, and his forehead was gleaming, even in the partial darkness of the area we had decided to take a momentary reprieve in. I wondered what I looked like…most likely as though I belonged in a psychopathic ward with no way to harm myself, wanting each and every day to escape and see the sunlight again. Yeah, that was probably where I was headed if I let this senseless paranoia about the robed man continue. After all, there was no sign of him, and there hadn't been since I had fled from him and that "Sherry." For all intents and purposes, I was safe.

It was then that Jiko came over to me. There was a darkness in his face. I knew it was there, but its exact origin and task I couldn't perceive nor pinpoint. Tiresome as it was, since I was 100 exhausted, I asked, "What are you doing?" My long black-green hair fell into my right eye, revealing more sweat on me and showing that the ragamuffin-like mat of locks could still move with so many knots tied in it from just running for my life.

Jiko smiled and knelt down beside me. Then, his eyes shrank. He came down on me full-force, taking advantage of my fatigue and weariness. Easily, he ripped most of my shirt off and grabbed one of my arms. With no resistance, he shoved me flat on the ground, left hand he clutched behind my head. Taking a piece of my shirt, he tied it around my mouth. Now I couldn't cry out for help…but it wasn't like anyone in a black robe who had been following me would swoop down and play the hero.

He proceeded to flip me over. Still, I was too tired to even try to fight back, though it would've been futile anyway. I heard him rip more of what had been my shirt, though I couldn't see on account of my head was being pressed down hard on the dirt and fragments of limestone on the road nearly out of Skingrad. Suddenly, both of my arms were pulled together, and he tied them together with little to no effort involved. Now I couldn't move, except for my legs…which were jelly because of the distance I'd scampered across.

Now Jiko flipped me back over, so I could his salmon-colored tongue lap the air around me before he bent down and began to suck on my chest. If he didn't suck, he licked like a maniac. He seemed to concentrate a great deal on my nipples, and what a sick creature he turned out to be. By the look on his face, I could tell he was fully enjoying himself and his disgusting actions.

It seemed that it couldn't get any worse. My stamina was coming back to me, but it still was an eternity away from being enough to escape. Jiko dug his hands down deep into my pants, felt around for a minute or so, then ripped them apart from inside. Once again his mouth came, sucking like a soul gem by a spirit.

When it seemed he had had enough of that, he flipped me back over. I could distinctly hear the sound of his own pants coming off. A tear flitted from my left eye, the one not concealed by my monstrous hair. But I was defenseless; there was nothing I could do. The tear symbolized my own weakness, insecurity, and inability to stop things from happening that shouldn't happen.

After a few minutes, Jiko began to slow down, and I don't think he was really paying attention to reality…like I was. More importantly, I was paying attention to people in black robes that had homicidal tendencies. But suddenly, I remembered the dagger that was probably lying by my feet. Giving tender attention to not making any unnecessary moves, I slid my bound hands back, and thank the Nine! I grasped the weapon's hilt.

I waited no longer. Thrusting the weapon in the direction of what I thought was Jiko, all I did was pray. The boy's breathing stopped, and I was able to roll over.

Jiko's eyes had misted over, and his "grinning-like-an-idiot" expression had been frozen on his face in death. My dagger stuck out of his side, and blood was cascading from the mortal wound. Although the screech couldn't be heard from underneath my gag, I pushed away from the cadaver. I backed up to the opposite stone wall, breathing heavily. Had I just killed someone?

"Amazing…" A voice entered my ears as someone appeared in my vision. For a minute he knelt over the corpse that was Jiko. "Simply amazing…" Then he turned my direction.

The darkness that had entered with the man had obscured my vision of him. But when he looked my way, it was all too clear who he was.

The robed man was here.


	2. My name is

If there hadn't been a reinforced rock wall behind me, I would've backed away until I was in a lake or something of the like. If I hadn't been bound, I'd have gotten up and dashed away. Unfortunately, I could do neither; and the robed man was stalking my way, legs twisted in an odd shape I had never in my life seen.

Shadows seemed to rise from his very person as he approached me, same hazy blue breath emanating from under his hood. Even though I couldn't see them, his eyes burrowed into my soul, almost as if they were evaluating it. The mysterious man kept coming forward, and I kept pushing against the wall, praying for some divine miracle to make it disappear. That never happened, and the man stopped above me. There was a low chuckle.

"Don't be afraid of silly old me." His voice, up close and personal, was the creepiest thing I'd ever heard. It was like a daedra had sprouted a vocal box and had coal inside its lungs. The first time I heard it, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had a right to be freaked out and paranoid over this…thing!

It was then that whoever it was bent down to eye-level with me. Bright crimson eyes glowed from behind the hood, aglow even in the deep darkness. "Don't move."

If I could, I would've yelled out, "What?!" But, seeing as I was gagged and still shocked from the experience with Jiko, I was impaired from doing so.

The movement was swift, and it was faster than I could blink. I couldn't tell if it was from some hidden sword or by hand, but the gag fell off. The ropes that held my hands together slouched (how the hell did he do that?).

"Stand up."

I complied, realizing he wasn't as threatening now. I shook there, up and using my legs after they had chemically changed to jelly. I fell backwards against the rock wall, and was thankful to get my balance. Sweat formed on my forehead and dripped down to the ground, leaving dark marks where it splashed.

Now he had my full attention; the robed man peered at me, head cocked to the side. "If you weren't standing up, I'd believe you to be female."

I blushed, something I hadn't done in a quite a while. The warmness felt good on my gaunt face, gaunt from all the years of living on the streets; gaunt from all the times I'd gone without food for days on end; gaunt from existing.

Aside from my unimaginably long hair, I didn't think I looked all that effeminate; yet, I'd seen myself in a mirror only a few times, and those times weren't meant for narcissism and admiring myself. So I went with his word; looking like a dyke couldn't be so bad, right?

"What is your name?"

His question struck me as odd. Only one other time had someone asked me my name, and I was going to give the robed man the same answer.

"I…don't have a name…"

"You don't have a name?" There wasn't a bit of confusion in his voice, but what seemed like disappointment. "All parents give their children names, right? What's yours?"

"I can't remember my real name," I said. "But when…when I was with the gang, Jiko…" I motioned to the corpse which the robed man had seemed mystified about. "Jiko gave me a new name."

"What was it?"

This seemed like an interrogation. Part of me waited for him to ask, 'Where were you on blah night?' But, sucking up my doubt like a sponge and spitting it out like I was throwing up (again) I decided to answer him.

"My name is…Kazaan."

It took a minute for the robed man to respond to this. Perhaps he had been insulted in some way by what my name was, or my attitude. Which I didn't know, but it seemed that he had been offended in some way.

"Kazaan…that is quite a…unique name." His tone was sincere and he showed no indication or inclination to harm me. For the first time, he revealed whatever hid under the sleeve of the skeleton-handy robe.

I saw a paw, claws sharp and fur glossy. The bleach white and orange meshed together to create an illusion of me looking at the sun…My eyes even hurt. It was so bright, nothing at all like the probably gothic creature standing before me. But it took a moment to come to the realization of what the paw meant. "You're a…"

The paw extended to the hood and pulled it down. What I now looked at was a Khajiit with blond hair and slits for pupils. His cheeks were semi-full, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Never before had I seen someone like him.

"Who…who are you?"

He leaned in closer, red eyes meeting my pumpkin ones. "Someone who is very impressed by your murder." Murder. The word made me clutch my stomach and cover my mouth. It was directed at me. Me…a murderer…

"Did you know that on the Imperial body there are only 3 points of instant death when stabbed? You hit one of them, without even looking. I have to aim for a few seconds before doing that. Either you've got natural talent or an insane amount of luck." He came in close to me, closer than I would've preferred. However, I was in no position to argue his advancements, no matter how uncomfortable they made me feel. Leaning in, I felt the tongue of a cat on my cheek.

"So warm and moist," the Khajiit muttered, transfixed. "A fresh batch of sweat always tastes the best, especially on a young body…"

"What in Sithis' name are you doing?!"

The Khajiit immediately pulled away and flipped the hood up. Looking to me left, I saw another black-clad person. "Get away from him!" I recognized the voice of "Sherry." She glided over to us in an instant, and slapped the Khajiit with a resounding "smack!" She forcefully shoved him to the ground. "Get some common sense! He's a child!"

"He's a murderer!"

Shaking her head, "Sherry" pulled her hood down. She was a Nord, with light copper skin and red tones on her mascara cover cheeks. Her raven hair fell to her shoulders, and earrings littered her ears, one on her lips and one on her right eyebrow. Yellow eyes dully gleamed and her light pink lips looked completely out of place on her person.

Turning to me, she said, "Forgive him; it has been a few days since he last…" Her sentence trailed off, followed by, "…Well, he'll tell you that later." She blew hair out of her eyes, which kinda creeped me out. They glared at me with the intensity of a hurricane…or my paranoia issues.

"Anyway, my name is Sherry. I'm the smart one in this weird pair. The Khajiit is-"

"Quite pissed off," he said as he got to his feet. "Don't break me too much, or I'll just have to kill you." There was a laugh from Sherry, who obviously disregarded the threat which I interpreted as both homicidal and ohmygodigottagetoutofhere.

"Don't listen to him; he mostly rambles."

"Yup. There was this one time where I nearly killed Sherry for knocking me over in the presence of a nearly naked young boy. Good times."

"That's Abyss for you."

"Abyss?" That comment hadn't made much sense. What was Sherry on?

"Abyss; that's his name." The Khajiit looked at me and bowed. "Abyss at your service, young Kazaan." His smile struck me as both odd and murderous. It wasn't even a smile. It was more of a grin that silently asked, 'Have you got a little sister?' My face went as red as his eyes.

Abyss rose to his full height, which dwarfed my size in comparison. "Why do you feel embarrassment? I never said or did anything out of the ordinary, did I?"

"Everything you do is out of the ordinary!" Sherry protested. Not even she, though sounding annoyed, could suppress a laugh. The Khajiit laughed right along with her. He leaned over and began lapping the air inches from her face with his tongue.

Sherry began to cackle, and I became speechless. "I…I think you need to save…this for…the bedroom!" Her sentence was choppy from laughing so hard. Apparently, she enjoyed Abyss' company…perhaps a bit _too_ much.

Both noticed my extreme fear and confuzzlement, and stopped. Sherry dusted off her robe and proclaimed, "What's so wrong with loving a Khajiit?!"

"I'm no expert on classy living or social etiquette," I said. "But I think there's one major problem with that: You are a Nord. He is a Khajiit. Other than that, dance away."

This comment made Sherry fall to the ground, laughing with enthusiasm and delight. "Maybe you're not…so bad!"

After a swift kick from Abyss, she got back to her feet and regained control of her emotions. He quickly whispered something in her ear, which I couldn't quite make out. The only word I caught was, 'up.'

Abyss turned to me. He extended a paw my direction. "How would like to come with us?"

I saw no reason to turn down his offer; mostly because I had this paranoid fear that he'd kill me if I refused. Other than that, he seemed like a good guy; Sherry was nice, too. So I brought my hand to his. "You got clothes where we're going?" His answer was a smug smirk.

Sherry let her arm rise into the air.

"What are you people?"

As she waved her hand, Abyss replied. "Speakers."

Shadows engulfed us.


	3. Introductions

I hadn't even meant to do it

The lime-yellow tint of candlelight met the three of us as we arrived in…just where the hell were we?

There were four chairs, only two of which were occupied; one was an Imperial with shoulder-length blond hair. His eyes were a rusty orange, and glared at me with obvious discontent. His right hand rested upon the hilt of a ceremonial dagger, which made my blood run cold; I gulped. The guys Abyss and Sherry hung out with were getting creepier and creepier by the minute.

Another figure was slouched back in a chair, steady breaths stirring the hood that covered the person's face. Sherry strolled over and kicked the person's shin.

"Yooowch!" Both hands flew to the wounded spot and growled. "You could've just told me someone was here." It was another woman. Great…

Her arms pushed back the hood, revealing the beautiful face of a dunmer. Her skin had an evergreen tone with pronounced cheekbones and chocolate-brown eyes. Abyss calmly walked over to her. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. It got the result of a small laugh. "Serious…?" After a nod from the Khajiit, she straightened u.

Brushing off her cloak she got to her feet and came over to me. Taking my hand in a sweeping motion, she brought my head to hers. "I am Kivana, child. Speaker. You may refer to me by my first name if you so please." Kivana turned to the blond man who gave me goose bumps. "Mr. Arrogant Prick, come on over."

With a huff of contempt, he got up and instantly appeared before me. There was an evil grin on his face. "Lucien Lachance, little boy. Stay out of my way, and I won't bite you." This got him grabbed by the collar. Abyss hissed at him. "Don't push me, you bleach-blond bastard." Abyss shoved Lucien away, which I was thankful for.

Lucien's look was evil and foreboding. He growled, but turned to the door to the left that I hadn't previously noticed. The bottom of his coal-black robe swept up dust as he exited, muttering under his breath.

"Good riddance," Sherry said. Her arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed. "I never liked him."

"None of us do, or ever will," Abyss replied, unable to conceal a small giggle. "Even his blood is tasteless." He summoned a wine glass to his paw and licked the edge. "Why, if memory serves, I threw it back up a few days afterward. Along with everything I'd eaten."

"If you ask me, he's up to something," Kivana said contemptuously. "He was always the one to go against Oni-Tokage's orders. If he got around to doing them, it was so he'd retain his position…"

It seemed that everyone had forgotten about me, and were now interested in bickering about Lucien. So, I raised my hand into the air. "Umm, excuse me…"

All three turned around. "Uh…Who is this 'Oni-Tokage'?"

Abyss bent down to my level. His eyes were serious and he shook his head. "None of us really know…He's an Argonian. That's basically it. But no one messes with him."

"Why not?"

"Why, because he's a person of many facets and interests. Not only is he the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild, but a Madgod and Grand Champion of the Imperial Arena."

"Grand Champion…? But, he never comes out, right? Wouldn't he have to because he's in the Arena?"

Abyss laughed. "Would you challenge him?"

"Well…no…"

"Everyone shares your thoughts. No one wants to take him on. So, he gets the fame _and_ his seclusion. Nice little package…I'd sure as hell like to have it…"

"Would you, now?"

We all turned sharply around and saw a set of deep maroon eyes glaring at us from the shadows. The blade of a nodachi stuck out of the darkness, pointed directly at me…Oh, boy. Here comes the paranoia again…

The creature didn't move, but his mere presence caused Abyss, Sherry, and Kivana, all in the same motion, to kneel down immediately. "Lord Oni-Tokage…" For once, Abyss' voice sounded solemn. I, however, didn't know what the hell was going on, so I just…yeah. I stayed up while everyone else kneeled. Following leads wasn't always my strong suit.

"Abyss…" Oni-Tokage's voice was deep and gravelly, not to mention tired-sounding. Had he never slept a day in his life? His eyes had to be droopy like an old bloodhound's…or Britney Spears' career.

"Cheydinhal's Schemer reported to me that you had found someone of interest to add to our family…" I saw the eyes examining me. "Surely you cannot mean this pathetic ragdoll. It looks as if she can barely stand…"

"Hey!" I lost control of my emotions. I knew this was a bad idea, but I couldn't contain myself. "I don't care who you are, you get my gender right! I am a guy! G-U-Y! Got it?!"

A low laugh emanated. "Oh ho ho…You're as feisty as Lachance…I like seeing that." Cold, seemingly dead breath swirled towards me, engulfing my nostrils. "I enjoy that kind of originality – Someone who isn't afraid to stand up to me. You have no idea how many wimps have passed through my blade, and all those didn't dare to address me with such flare. It gets so dull, living for as long as I and never having someone to talk to who will start an argument. These silly mortals all fear for their lives and cower from me in the darkness that I own! I paralyze Cyrodiil with fear, carrying on the legacy that Brother and I started ever so long ago! Shadows belong to me, and no one else; no one is safe as long as there are shadows. For where there are shadows…" He chuckled. "There is I, and I am death itself." Suddenly, Oni-Tokage began to cackle.

"Perhaps _he_ isn't as useless and rudimentary as I first thought. At least he has some guts about him." The nodachi disappeared. "Abyss, I would enjoy your company tomorrow night for some tea and idle conversation about developments…" He didn't have to try and disguise it under gigantic words; I knew he wanted to discuss _me_.

The eyes shook in the darkness. "And for Sithis' sake, get him a cloak…" Oni-Tokage faded, and his presence was felt by us no longer.

All three Speakers got up. "You heard him," Sherry said gruffly. "Get the boy something to wear. I couldn't agree more. You go, Kivana…"

"Miss Sherry…?"

The four of us turned to the doorway. There was someone in a cloak with radiant silver hair that flowed like a waterfall to the abdomen. There were dark green eyes on the beautiful silky face of the Imperial. Long eyelashes fluttered on her face. She walked forward with light steps, nary a sound; her feet fondled the floor with gentle kindness. "I wouldn't mind giving him the cloak, if you're too busy and disinclined to do so."

Sherry smiled. "Of course."

Abyss cleared his throat. "Kazaan, this is Jessie. Jessie, this is Kazaan. Kazaan, follow Jessie to get your cloak."

Jessie motioned towards the door and exited, so I followed. As I left, I heard Kivana saying, "Your Silencer is weird, Sherry…"

--

Jessie threw me the cloak with a smile. "Put it on; it feels great, and it's almost form-fitting. That's magic!"

Per her suggestion, I began to slip into it. The fabric was velvety, and felt refreshing against my battered skin. I breathed in heavily, and sighed with content as my arms slipped into the sleeves so soft. I had never felt this comfortable before, and to think – it was in a place full of bloodthirsty creatures!

Turning to Jessie, I noticed she was taking off her – WHAT THE HOLY HELL?!

Jessie was flat-chested with a working abdomen. In fact, Jessie was completely naked, and I saw proof that SHE WAS A GUY! His hair did nothing to hide his lewdness, and he didn't seem to care all that much. It was just…he looked so effeminate that…

"What?" Jessie's cheeks were red, and his eyes remained locked on me as he reached back for a pack on the bed beside him.

"You…You're a guy!"

"Yeah…So what? So are you, and – Oh… Don't worry, happens all the time…" He leaned in close with this childish grin, raising his eyebrows in the most immature fashion I'd ever seen. "I know you like it."

My cheeks went redder than his, and though the feeling of warmth was wonderful, I was embarrassed. Really embarrassed. "Hey!" I turned around. "Get some clothes on."

After a minute, I turned back around. Jessie was gathering up her cloak. "You're a real odd guy, you know that?" He smiled. "But you don't seem all that bad." Now examining our relative heights, I realized he was about 5 inches taller than me. Coming towards me, he bent down and kissed my forehead.

'Good luck."

He left with a smile. And I knew I'd need all the luck in the world to get through this thing alive.

As I left the room, I noticed Lucien standing in the hallway. He grunted, but smiled through it; a dark, sinister smile it was. Then he vanished.

What was with these people?


	4. Oni Tokage's Decision

It was uncomfortable, to say the least, to be in the presence of murderers who would kill you as soon as look at you if money was involved. I shifted slightly on one of the benches as I awaited Abyss' return. With him came news of my fate – was I worth something to these people, or was I merely meat for them to gnaw into?

Kivana sat across from me, cleaning the skin off of a delectable-looking chicken leg. Only recently had she told me that I was in the Skingrad branch of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary – something I both enjoyed and despised. I would be close to my old friends if I made it through alive, but I could just as easily have to kill them.

The Dark Brotherhood is what the organization of assassins and shadowy warriors is called. They do mostly cloak-and-dagger stuff, and get paid quite handsomely for their services. Most of the time, though, they are commissioned to kill innocent people at the whim of someone with gold to spare.

And so I fidgeted. I felt completely alien with all of them – Orcs, Imperials, Nords, Redguards, Argonians, elves of all kinds…And then there was little me, who could barely keep his wits about him. I was going to need much more than Jessie's luck to survive.

Turning, I saw Lucien standing by a pillar. He smoked a pipe and was turned away from me. Although he looked normal from both angles I'd viewed him at, something just didn't fit – almost as if there was something he was hiding.

To get my mind off of this, I turned back to Kivana, who was munching on an apple. Though I might sound insensitive, I had never seen a Dunmer with brown eyes. My curiosity often got the best of me, so I asked her, "Why do you have brown eyes?"

I didn't need a scholar to tell me that, at this point in time, Kivana was very much uninterested in me. Still, she paid attention and answered my question. "Long story. To sum it all up, I got into a fight with the guy I was supposed to kill. I killed him, of course, but he gouged my eyes out. So, I took his eyes and made them my own."

A shiver ran down my spine. She hadn't even shook once when she told me how she had been mutilated. Part of me started to get up and head for the nearest exit, but the other part of me could only look at the tip of a dagger.

My blood ran cold as Kivana pointed the thing towards me. It wasn't until then that I realized I was half-standing, half-sitting. "Sit down," she said with a motherly voice. "Abyss requested we not let you leave until he returns from his date with Lord Oni-Tokage." Whoever was listening in snickered. "I plan to make good on that request."

Deciding to take my chances and at least retain some shred of hope that I might live, I sat back down. The Dunmer elegantly put the dagger away. "That's better."

The rest of the waiting was pretty much uneventful. At one point I saw Jessie strolling by, but he seemed pretty intent on something, so I decided not to run up to him.

"AAAAGGGHHHH!!"

Every single person in the main room turned as the door opened. Abyss strolled in, chomping on a woman's body. She flailed and beat at him, but he refused to let up. His teeth were sunken into her thigh.

"Nice job knocking this time," Lucien said. Abyss furled his brow, but it soon became carefree again. As he released his mouth, he replied, "I just can't understand why I need to knock." Lucien shook his head.

"Hey, gay boy!" I saw everyone's eyes shift over to Jessie. He grinned. "Enjoy your date?" The room burst into laughter. Even the Khajiit himself laughed. The only two who didn't were me and the woman he was holding.

"Take this cutie downstairs," he said, lightly placing her on the ground. "Train her in assassin arts – I want her to stay here for a _long_ time."

Jessie came over, smiling nearly psychotically, and caught the woman's wrist. "Come on. It'll hurt more the more you struggle." She finally stopped trying to pull away, and I was in awe at his physical strength. The two disappeared down the stairs at the back of the room.

Everyone slowly went back to what they had been doing, but kept one eye fixed on me as Abyss came over. He sat down on the bench next to me, not even trying to stay quiet. All I could do was look up at him, pleading with my eyes. His paw came forward and pushed hair out of my right eye.

"Kazaan…" Whew! At least _he _remembered my name… "You probably already know that I talked with Oni-Tokage about you." I nodded, and thought I saw a pair of deep maroon eyes in the corner. "And we decided…"

He extended a paw towards me, and took my hand; he shook it well. "Welcome to the Dark Brotherhood." Abyss had a huge grin on his face. There was no mistaking the fact that he was glad the Argonian had chosen to spare me. And I was, too.

--

Abyss had explained me the duties of the Brotherhood, the Five Tenets, and that I was to only kill those I was instructed to. He had also informed me that my rank was Silencer, and that it was amazing to start so high up. The details of how I got such a high position were unknown to me, but I took it in stride.

…Actually, that's a lie. I took it in big, jump up-and-down, "Yay!"-ide.

Leaving me to my own devices, Abyss left. The door closed on his way out. And for a minute, everything was silent.

"Congratulations."

My eyes and body shifted to look at the far part of the small room. From out of the shadows stepped Oni-Tokage himself. He had a warm, inviting smile on his face. Part of me wondered how many people had fallen dead looking at the same exact expression.

"I hear you've become one of our brethren."

"Of course I have. You're the one who said so," I reminded him.

"That's right…" The Argonian reached down into his cloak, and extracted something. I cringed as he walked towards me.

"For you."

I opened my eyes, and saw in his claws an envelope and a knife. He pushed them towards me, so I casually took them. I further inspected the knife once it was safe in my grasp. It had a hilt with a golden snake curling up it. The blade had sharp grooves, and I pricked one of them. Blood began running from my fingertip.

"It's a dirk," Oni-Tokage told me. "Anyway, open the envelope – it's your first assignment. Do exactly what it says." With that, he bowed and retreated back into the darkness.

After wrapping my finger with some cloth, I carefully opened the envelope. Inside it was a letter that said something along the lines of "Go to the Imperial Market District. Once there, report to The Feed Bag – it's an inn. Go to the room furthest down the hall. Kill the one in there and leave."

So, not even a day in the Dark Brotherhood, and I was going out to murder someone. Taking a deep breath, I exited the room, dirk in hand.

--

The Feed Bag was a small inn. There wasn't much room to sneak around, but I had had smaller spaces as a street rat. As I crawled along, unnoticed, I felt like something wasn't right. Pushing the thought away, I continued, and made it to the stairs.

With nary a sound, I crept up the steps. As I ascended the second floor, I peered around; no one was there. Sighing, I went to the end of the hall. It was no surprise that the door was locked.

Smiling, I took out my lucky lockpick, something I'd kept hidden from the assassins. I was so proud of myself for it, too…Anyway, I suck it in and jiggled it. After a minute, I heard a click, meaning it was unlocked. Chuckling to myself, I entered, closing the door behind me.

There was little light, and whoever I was to kill was sound asleep. Stepping up to my full height (which wasn't very much, mind you), I examined who it was, and gasped in surprise and horror.

It was Kivana.


End file.
